Notre Dame men's basketball: Detour to a dream for Hansbrough

Thousands of miles separated Ben Hansbrough from his comfort zone whenthe former Notre Dame guard embarked last summer on a professionalbasketball career overseas.

That distance seemingly grew with each passing week after frustratingweek as he felt his career drifting from his ultimate goal of playingin the NBA.

So after two stops that included five months in Germany and one inSlovenia didn't work out, Hansbrough decided he needed to get back tothe place where he felt best about his game, a place where it firstsoared into a different stratosphere. To best chase his hoops dreams,Hansbrough returned to South Bend, signed a lease on an apartmentdowntown and has become a daily fixture working out at PurcellPavilion.

"My nature and my personality are that I'm a creature of habit," saidthe 2011 Big East player of the year and second team Associated PressAll-American. "You don't realize it when you go through it every day,but when you leave (Notre Dame), you realize what this place meant toyou.

"It's a great atmosphere to be in and not just because of basketball.At the end of the day, I'm back to (chase) my opportunity."

Hansbrough chases it with a relentless workout routine that expandedafter his two seasons with the Irish ended in the spring of 2011.During his college days it was common for him to run through 45minutes of demanding drills, participate in practice and return thatnight for even more work.

He's now in the gym every day -- once in the morning and again in theafternoon, usually close to two hours each session. His routineremains much the same but since there's no reason to save his legs,it's more intense. As he was during the 2010-11 season, former Irishvolunteer student manager Pat Holmes, Jr. is Hansbrough's workoutcompanion. He drives him through drills and is there as a soundingboard if Hansbrough (as he often does) vents any frustration.

"I like to do things my way and there's a guy who I feel like I workedwith when I was at the peak of my game in Pat," Hansbrough said. "Ifeel the best when he's pushing me through workouts."

Another constant is Hansbrough's boom box that belts out beats athigh-energy, mind-numbing levels and cuts though the offseason quietof the building. If there's music bouncing around the arena halls,odds are Hansbrough's somewhere nearby working up a serious sweat.

It also serves as his not-so-subtle "Do Not Disturb" sign.

"You've gotta have the music," Hansbrough said. "You've gotta have themusic to go in and get completely lost and get in the zone."

A difficult journey

Undrafted out of college and unable to give the NBA a good look at hisgame for myriad reasons -- an injury, the league's lockout, no summerleague because of the work stoppage -- Hansbrough signed a one-yearcontract last June to play for Bayern Muenchen, one of the top-levelteams in Germany.

The experience slipped south almost immediately.

Training camp that was demanding for even the fittest of playersbecame a daily struggle. Hansbrough tried to prove his value to hisnew team and to his new coach on a crippled left ankle. He suffered asevere sprain last summer while preparing for the NBA pre-draft camp.The injury forced him to skip the camp and likely led to him goingundrafted. Bayern Muenchen also had limited access to its gym whichmeant Hansbrough had little time to dive deep into his workout routineoutside the grueling practices.

When he was able to go, he felt far from himself. Even now, the ankleremains noticeably larger than the healthy one.

"Trying to play with a bad ankle is like trying to drive with a flattire," he said. "You don't have 100 percent confidence in anything youdo.

"It still bothers me."

Playing a fullcourt game of "21" after a workout last summer inIndianapolis, Hansbrough stepped on the foot of another player androlled his left ankle. Hansbrough took three weeks off when threemonths might have been better.

When his NBA plans fell apart, he grabbed the offer in Germany andwent right back to work, no matter the physical cost.

"I never really allowed it to recover," he said.

Hansbrough appeared in 10 games and averaged 5.5 points, 1.6 reboundsand 2.7 assists in 13.4 minutes with Bayern. Released on Dec. 23, hecaught on a week later with KRKA Novo Mesto in Slovenia'shighest-level league. KRKA offered a fresh start. But after averaging11.5 points, 2.0 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 26.0 minutes over fourgames, Hansbrough, who watched Notre Dame beat Syracuse on hiscomputer from Belgrade, Serbia at 3 in the morning, asked to bereleased in late January.

The ankle remained such an issue that he thought staying in Europewould cost him another chance this summer at an NBA opportunity.

After six months overseas, his heart still was at home and seldom inEurope. He considered giving up the game altogether, maybe even goingto graduate school. In the end, he knew he had to get back to SouthBend and get healthy.

"I had to go pursue a dream of mine," he said. "But if I was going todo it, my ankle also had to be 100 percent."

Prior to the injury Hansbrough was a likely late-second round NBAdraft pick based on his senior season. He averaged 18.4 points, 3.9rebounds and 4.3 assists in 35.4 minutes per game. He helped driveNotre Dame to a school-record 27 wins. He was a key reason Notre Damewent 14-4 in the Big East and finished in second place, one win shy ofa share of its first regular-season championship.

As the Irish sailed as high as fourth in the national rankings andearned a No. 2 seed in the 2011 NCAA tournament, Hansbrough became theface of the program. He was the guy to go to, win or lose, for thehows and whys of what happened.

Going undrafted and the time spent in Europe didn't weakenHansbrough's belief that he belongs in the NBA. During down times thisspring, he'll visit former teammates Tim Abromaitis and Scott Martin,who live in the same apartment complex. When they're not playing videogames -- Hansbrough is the Mario Kart champion -- they're watching NBAgames, albeit a little uncomfortably.

"I'll be like, 'Is that Jimmy Butler out there? Remember me rippingthrough (with a dribble) baseline and dunking on him?'" Hansbroughsaid of the former Marquette swingman drafted in the first round lastsummer by the Chicago Bulls. "It's definitely tough to watch."

The chase continues

Hansbrough returned to campus in mid-March. There were times whencoach Mike Brey would be walking down an arena hallway on his way frompractice as the Irish prepared for the NCAA tournament, and he wouldhear Hansbrough's workout music blasting from the basement basketballcourt. Brey would peer in at the familiar scene and remind himselfthat his former guard, whose drive and demeanor was unlike any playerhe has coached at Notre Dame, had exhausted his eligibility.

"I love the fact that he wants to make a run at (the NBA)," Brey said."When people tell him he can't do something, he's a killer. He's gotthat attitude again. He's got that look in his eye.

"When he wants to do it, you better get the (heck) out of the way."

Motivation seldom has been a problem for the 6-foot-3, 205-poundHansbrough. As a sophomore in high school in his hometown of PoplarBluff, Mo., he was told he'd be nothing more than a good low-majorDivision I prospect. At his first college stop (Mississippi State), hewas told that his game was best as a spot-up shooter.

Even when he became eligible at Notre Dame, Hansbrough was a mystery.Could he be a consistent big-time scorer? Could he lead? He scored1,044 career points in only two seasons in South Bend (good for 48thall-time) and drove the Irish to their success in 2010-11.

Pigeon-hole him into a specific something, and Hansbrough likely willprove people wrong. He insists that drive comes not from what otherssay about him or his game, but from within.

"I have no problems with people telling me that I can't do things," hesaid. "But I do this for my own beliefs and my own expectations andwhat I think I'm capable of."

Hansbrough believes that he's good enough and talented enough anddriven enough to finish his 12-week rehabilitation program and fighthis way onto an NBA team's roster in time for the summer league, thenwin a roster spot in the fall. His agent, Jeff Schwartz, has fieldedcalls from NBA teams interested in signing him to a free-agentcontract.

"I'm going to get back above my peak," Hansbrough said. "There's no doubt."